Preclinical students' perceptions of their courses and preclinical specialty choice.

This study aimed to assess the perceptions of 300 level preclinical medical students of the University of Benin regarding their courses, namely, anatomy, physiology and medical biochemistry, using a structured questionnaire to elicit relevant information. Majority of the students felt that anatomy and physiology were the most relevant to the medical curriculum, while medical biochemistry was the least relevant.(P<0.05). While majority perceived anatomy as being the most difficult to understand, they however claimed to have the most interaction with anatomy lecturers. Over half the number felt that they were most satisfied with the quality of teaching and of practicals in physiology. Very few students, majority of who were males, were willing to specialize in any of the courses. It is concluded that students' perceptions of these courses play a role in how well they pass at the exams and their willingness to choose them as specialties after graduation. Ways to improve upon these are recommended.

Keywords
Preclinical students. perceptions. Anatomy. Physiology. Medical biochemistry.